Dead Wrong
by Epershand
Summary: Set after Dead and Gone. SPOILERS. You have been warned. Sookie is attempting a return to normalcy after the fairy war, but what is normal? More importantly, does she want it back? What if she's wrong about her life? What if she's wrong about the viking?
1. Chapter 1

Takes place after Dead and Gone. **Spoilers inside, you have been warned.** I own nothing, this is Charlaine Harris' sandbox and I am simply playing in it.

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It was cold when I clocked out from my shift at Merlotte's. I threw on my winter coat and practically ran to my car. This was less out of fear for my safety and more because I knew if I stayed another second I would be asked to stay late. I love my job, but I'd had enough of serving beer to drunks and trying to get in touch with any relative of Jane Bodehouse that was still living. The garble going on in my mind faded as I got further from the crowd. Ever since the "fairy war" as I came to call it, it wasn't the easiest thing to put up my mental wall. Something about being tortured by fairies must have damaged my gift. I scoff to even call it that. My telepathy has brought me nothing but trouble since the supes found out about it. I wrenched my door open with an awful racket and threw my battered purse onto the passenger seat. It hit and the contents toppled onto the floor.

"Dammit!" This evening was just not getting any better.

To make matters worse, my heat had up and died on me two weeks ago. Thank God the drive home wasn't lengthy. The whole car was falling apart. I couldn't even sell it in the shape it was in. A little over a year ago, on a cold night like tonight, I found Eric running along this road half naked with amnesia. It was short lived but those times spent with him were the best in my life. It killed me to admit that. Eric had recovered those memories but they remained a subject off limits. In fact, now that I think about it, almost everything is off limits in Eric conversations. I'm not sure if that's something I've decided subconsciously or if that's how he steers our interaction. Interesting. My car shuddered to a stop and gave one last thunderous roar before puttering out pathetically.

'I miss Gran,' I thought miserably.

I recovered the lost contents of my battered purse and headed sluggishly up the steps to my house. Amelia had moved out a few days ago. She couldn't take Tray's death any longer. She wouldn't admit it, but I knew seeing me was hard. It was partially my fault, after all. She was kind enough to leave the wards in place; anyone trying to get in would have one hell of a time. This left me feeling secure enough to enter my house at night alone, a feeling I hadn't had for some time. I stepped into my dark foyer and flipped the first switch on the left to illuminate the room.

"Hello, lover." Eric's smooth voice glided across the room and wrapped around my eardrums.

"OH!" I exclaimed. My purse vomited its contents for the second time that night as it hit the floor. I turned briskly on my heel at the sound of his voice. I couldn't decide whether to be pissed or confused. I had no idea how he'd gotten in with locks and wards. Especially the wards. He was lounging comfortably in Gran's old armchair. I always thought that armchair was quite spacious but his six foot five frame filled it almost completely. If I hadn't been going through so many emotions I may have laughed. He looked like a giant in a dollhouse. I surveyed him quickly; he was business casual in dark wash jeans and a long sleeve blue button down. I'd never seen him in blue before; it brought out his eyes. I shook all thoughts of his attractiveness out of my head and decided to go with bitchy. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Lover? Lover, hmm?" I shifted my weight from one hip to the other to emphasize my discontent with his word choice.

Eric evaluated me quietly, something distant and unfamiliar in his eyes. Hurt? Maybe, but doubtful. Hurt he wouldn't be getting a taste of this tonight? Most likely. The silence evolved into an elephant and I decided waiting for an answer was no longer important.

"Look, Eric, I've just worked a twelve hour shift. I am tired, I am cranky, and I don't feel like dealing with this right now. If you're not going to say what you came here to say you can just get out." I huffed like a fifteen year old, but right now I didn't care. After a few more moments of silence I threw my hands into the air and my expression said everything I wanted it to.

I shuffled past my purse on the floor and past the imposing Viking in my living room to the stairs. Before I could reach the landing, Eric was there. I hadn't even felt him move past me.

"Sookie," his beautiful blue eyes bore into me, "please, sit down."

"Fine. Let me change. I'll be down in a minute." I conceded. I damned myself internally for being such a piece of fluff around him and I stalked up the stairs.

I grabbed the least evocative pair of pajamas I had, no sense leading him on about my intentions tonight. I hurriedly washed my face and smoothed my ponytail. I was walking back down the stairs less than ten minutes later.

Eric was waiting in the same armchair, having what can best be described as vampire downtime. He was completely still like a more perfect version of Adonis. I sat quietly on the couch opposite Eric and folded my tired legs under each other. No one spoke for a few moments and only the crackling of the fireplace could be heard. Finally, Eric broke the silence.

"It's hard for me to admit when I've done something… wrong." He began.

This caught me off guard. Of all the things that could have come out of his mouth, that seemed to be something I hadn't imagined or expected. My shock must have been apparent through our bond but he didn't let on. From him flowed nothing but regret. He moved from the armchair at vampire speed and before I could blink he was on his knees in front of me.

He brought his lips to my palm and kissed it tenderly, "Sookie. The night of the attack I had every intention of being there. I could tell you why I wasn't but I don't want to bother with excuses. All I can do is assure you it won't ever happen again. My delayed arrival was unfortunate but necessary. Sookie, do you believe me?" His eyes were pleading. It was hard to doubt his sincerity when it flowed openly into me.

"I believe you."

Relief passed through the bond like a tsunami. I didn't have any reason not to believe him. Eric had always been secretive with me but he had never lied to me as Bill had. He laid his cool cheek on my palm and a small smile tugged at the corner of his perfect lips. He thought he was in the clear. I may have believed him, but he was wrong. I lifted his chin so his eyes met mine.

"Just because I believe you doesn't mean I forgive you." It came out with an edge and chill I did not intend.

His face hardened and anger flowed into me. I couldn't be sure if it was his or mine.

"I was beaten, tortured, and violated to the nines and you think that just because you couldn't handle seeing me that way makes it okay that you weren't there?" My voice was rising but I didn't care. I'd been through enough. "I don't even know who I am anymore! Two years ago I was a telepathic barmaid living peacefully! Now I've been to the hospital more times than I can count. The ER nurses probably know me by name! I've been beaten and nearly raped and pushed around and forced into this bond with you!" I spat.

His eyes turned icy. "Oh. I am sorry to have been such an inconvenience. Had I realized you would have preferred Andre to bond you to him I wouldn't have bothered stepping in for your protection." He growled.

"Oh, don't act like you're so innocent! As if you only had my safety and best interest at heart! I'm not the only one who knows that Eric Northman's top priority is Eric Northman!" I was on my feet and yelling now. Eric had stood as well and wasn't backing down.

"You are insufferable!" He shouted in my face. In a swift movement he took off into the sky and crashed right through my roof leaving a gaping hole.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" I screeched after him. I knew he could hear me and I was glad. I stomped up to my room and slammed the door. Not like it mattered, there was no one to hear it. I climbed under my blankets and tried not to think about how cold it was going to get in here with that huge hole. I just hoped it didn't rain.

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Reviews make me smile, if you don't like it, I can't fix it if I don't know.


	2. Chapter 2

This was supposed to be a oneshot about Sookie and how she's moved on from Bill set to "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (which may still make a brief appearance at some point). Clearly, my fingers disagreed and here we have a series. Oh, Lord. I hope you all like it. Read and review.

Oh, and everything belongs to Charlaine Harris, of course. I am just a broke college kid having fun in her world.

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"_You are insufferable!" He shouted in my face. In a swift movement he took off into the sky and crashed right through my roof leaving a gaping hole._

_ "YOU ASSHOLE!" I screeched after him. I knew he could hear me and I was glad. I stomped up to my room and slammed the door. Not like it mattered, there was no one to hear it. I climbed under my blankets and tried not to think about how cold it was going to get in here with that huge hole. I just hoped it didn't rain.

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_

I awoke the next morning to the sound of crunching and power tools. Startled, I nearly fell out of bed. A look out my window showed me that Merritt Roofing was here. There were at least six pick-ups parked neatly in my driveway. I quickly showered and dressed and hurried downstairs to see what was happening. I went out onto my porch to see a crew of about twenty construction workers completely redoing my entire roof. I must have been a sight, standing there gaping, because one of them approached me.

"Miss Stackhouse?" He questioned. He was probably near Jason's age. He had a close shaved head which made distinguishing his hair color hard (that and he was wearing a hard hat) but it was clearly dark when it grew long. His eyes were a deep green and he was tanned in spite of the winter from working outside all summer.

"Yes. Yes, that's me." I regained my voice. "How can I help you?"

He removed his hard hat and scratched his head, "Well, m'am, my name is Pete Fischer. I'm the head of this here crew and we received a work order for your roof this morning, said it was urgent. So, here we are."

I must have looked confused because he studied me hard. "Oh. Well, how much do I owe you?"

Now it was his turn to look confused, "It's been paid in full, Miss Stackhouse."

"Oh, yes, of course…" I trailed off.

"We estimate that we'll be done by early evening. That's why we've got so many working. Do you have somewhere you could go while we finish? It's not dangerous to be in your house… it's just that we're going to be awfully noisy and we don't want to disturb you." He put his hard hat back on.

"Yes. I'll be out shortly. Thanks for coming on such short notice." I smiled as best I could at him and went back inside.

If Gran were alive, she would be scolding me for not offering him a glass of tea or a cup of coffee and some breakfast. Sometimes, I wish I could be as great as Gran was. Today, it didn't seem like it was going to happen. I blew my hair dry simply because the heat from the dryer felt good. Pete was right, it was noisy. I could hear every single thing. Pete seemed like a nice guy from what I had picked up from his thoughts. He was confused by my lack of knowledge about my own roof but chalked it up to it being early and me being startled awake. He hadn't assumed I was just dumb. That made me a little warm inside. It was nice to meet people who didn't have such a negative outlook on everything. I flipped the ends of my hair with a big round brush and applied a modest amount of make-up.

My skin had healed better than I expected with the only visible scarring on my upper legs. I had faithfully rubbed cocoa butter on them every night and it was diminishing them greatly. In spite of the physical troubles I had endured I still looked just the same before I was captured. As much as I didn't like being bonded to Eric I had to admit that his blood did my body wonders. My skin was smooth and radiant. My summer tan was almost gone but I was sure what little there was left was only there because of the vampire blood. My eyes were bright and my teeth looked as though I used whitening strips on them. My blonde hair was long and practically glowed in the sunlight. I was still a size ten but a more athletic ten than I had been two years ago. So much battle had toned me up better than any gym membership.

I changed into a pair of jeans and a pink sweater, grabbed my battered purse (which I carefully refilled with its spilled contents) and left through my front door. I locked it, not like it mattered, I thought. One of these guys could just go through the roof. I snickered to myself and went to my car. The driver's side door groaned at being disturbed. The sound was something similar to nails on a chalkboard. I hopped in and buckled up, as I was about to start my engine something caught my eye. On my dash, there was a letter.

The envelope was standard. I picked it up; it had my name on it and nothing else. The back was sealed with wax and an emblem I couldn't quite make out. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was from Eric, and I had already guessed he was behind my extensive roof repair. I had hoped to ignore it for longer than a few hours. With a sigh, I opened the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper inside.

_I am sorry._

_Eric_

That was all it said. I huffed. I shouldn't be surprised. I don't know why I was even mad. He apologized for his behavior and was having my entire roof repaired, not just the spot he demolished. It was very generous of him, the roof was becoming old and in need of a few repairs which I simply lacked money for. I don't recall ever saying this to him; he must have felt it through the bond when he created that gaping hole. But how could he? I wasn't even consciously thinking about it, unless my small burst of anxiety afterwards set him off. I didn't want to think about it now. Life was too complicated. I wished I could just appreciate this generosity as I backed out of my driveway, then again, when had I ever appreciated anything Eric did for me?

It only took me a few minutes in the freezing car to get to Tara's Togs. I needed a new purse and a day of general splurge might make me feel better. Having the day off was no fun if I just sat around and wallowed in misery. I needed to make a better attempt at getting my life back to normal. Hmph, normal. I snorted in contempt at the thought and went in to the store. Tara was behind the counter looking intently at some books. She smiled at the sight of me and came around to give me a big hug. She had the beginnings of a baby bump. She looked positively radiant.

"Sookie! It's so good to see you! I heard about the car accident. I can't believe your car even managed to survive something that bad." Tara didn't say it with malice; she was genuinely in wonder. This was why I loved her. She couldn't be mean if she wanted to.

"I know," I cleared my throat preparing myself for the lie. "I'm surprised as well."

After the war, Sam and Eric fabricated a car accident to explain my injuries without suspicion. The story was that after driving home from work one night a drunk driver hit me so hard it ejected me from my car, hence all the surface injuries. It had worked for the most part and I garnered quite a few looks of sympathy upon returning to work afterwards. I hated lying to Tara but it seemed best. I would rather pretend that's what happened, anyway. I sighed.

"What brings you in today?" Tara was all pregnancy cheer and glow.

"Just out for some quality 'me' time." I smiled. "I also wanted to see you, how is everything?"

Tara gushed for an hour about J.B. and his new job, their new house, the baby, everything. I was incredibly happy for her but couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the normality of her life. She had a respectable job, she was married to a very nice guy, and she was expecting a baby. Would I ever have that? Logic told me almost certainly not. I'd never even been with a human, when I thought about it. I ticked off my various sexual encounters which lead to Bill, Sam, Eric, Alcide, and Quinn. Even if I hadn't gone all the way with Sam or Alcide, they still weren't completely human. I just couldn't attract a decent human man, and, let's be totally open about this, who wants little part-tiger/dog/were babies? I was mortified by the thought.

Tara excused herself to answer the phone and I took the opportunity to peruse the store. I only needed a purse but perhaps a new dress and shoes would make me feel better. I picked out a brown patent leather bag with a shoulder strap. It was simple and pretty. I needed something versatile and this would go with jeans or a nice business outfit. Tara had a beautiful selection of sweater dresses, and after trying on a few that made me look six sizes bigger than what I was I settled on a pretty gray turtleneck dress. I already owned black leggings to wear with it. Tights are just too thin for winter. I found a fabulous pair of white boots with black buttons on the side for flair. Upon Tara's insistence, I added a black waist belt to my dress. She said it brought out my curves even more.

I gathered all my items and took them to the register for purchase. Tara rang up each one and my total came to well over what I was prepared to pay. She bagged all my items for me in pink tissue paper and placed them into a black bag.

"I hope you'll come around again, Sookie. I worry about you." Tara said as she began to walk me to the door.

"Tara, I didn't pay." I reminded her. That was a large purchase and with a baby on the way she needed the profit.

Tara hesitated before she responded carefully, "Sookie. I've been instructed by Eric Northman that anything you purchase here must go on his account or else he will withdraw his business from my boutique and I really can't afford that… I know you're probably—"

I cut her off, "He what? He told you anything I bought was to go on his tab, hmm? You're damn right I'm mad!"

Tara looked embarrassed, "Please don't be upset with me. He puts a lot of money into the boutique and he offered to advertise my store for free at Fangtasia. It's really helped me a lot."

"I'm not mad at you, Tara. I am mad at Eric." I fumed.

"But, why? He's offering to pay for you to go on shopping sprees here and he's helping me with my business. He could have picked another store but chose this one because we're such good friends and I was struggling with business for a bit there." Tara looked taken aback by my anger, and when she put it that way, it was hard to be angry with Eric. Was I the only one who saw him this way? Clearly, Tara thought Eric was a darling for offering to buy me things and helping her in the process.

"I think I'm just having a bad week. Sorry for the outburst." I was the one embarrassed now. I thanked Tara and put my purchases into my trunk and took off for Merlotte's. I wasn't the drinking kind, but I sure could use one right now.

It was near five by the time I got there and the sun would be setting soon. The bar was surprisingly crowded for a Sunday evening. I parked near the employee entrance and went in. Sam was the first to see me.

"What's up, Cher?" He looked quizzical that I would come to Merlotte's on my day off.

"I need a drink." I huffed and slumped onto a bar stool.

He raised his eyebrow, "That's not like you. What's going on?"

I looked at him level, "Sam. Please just pretend I am a normal bar patron for once and get me a drink."

He nodded his head toward his office and began to walk in that direction; I followed reluctantly, knowing that I wasn't going to get a drink anytime soon.

Once in his office he shut the door quietly and sat down across from me at his desk. He spoke solemnly.

"Sookie, earlier there were some FBI agents in here asking me about you."

His words hit me like an eighteen wheeler. I thought for sure they would have given up. Sam sensed my shock and went on.

"They wanted to know a lot about you. When you started here, if you were happy here, who you spent your time with, all sorts of things that normal FBI investigators don't ask. Does this have anything to do with this?" He pointed to his head in a gesture which I took to mean as my telepathy. I thought it odd he didn't acknowledge my gift out loud but was smart enough to realize that if he wasn't saying it there was a reason.

I swallowed hard. "I think so, Sam."

He nodded and led me back out into the bar. Night had fallen and the bar was full of patrons, families out for a Sunday dinner mainly although a few of the regular drunks were starting to show up. I slumped back onto my barstool and put my forehead on the cool wood bar top.

"How about that drink?" The familiar voice sent my senses whipping into a frenzy. When had Eric shown up? Since when did he patronize other bars than his own?

I spun around on the barstool and raised my eyebrow at him. "I sure hope you mean to buy a drink for me as opposed to making me the drink." It was too hard to be mean to him today.

The right corner of his mouth tugged up showing a bit of his perfectly straight and white teeth. "Of course." He winked at me.

He joined me at the bar on the stool next to mine. His frame was so large he nearly eliminated any personal space the bar offered, not that it offered much. He ordered a TruBlood in A+; I ordered a gin and tonic. Sam brought them back to us quietly and attended to other patrons. I wasn't sure if he liked Eric's presence or not. We drank in silence for a few minutes. I finished my gin and tonic before Eric finished his blood and Sam brought me another. He looked worried, but didn't say anything. I silently thanked him for it. By the time Eric finished his blood, I was on drink number four. He was mildly amused by my drinking.

"Have a bad day?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

I glared at him. "I didn't sleep well last night; it was so cold in my house."

For the first time ever, I saw Eric look at his feet. "I am sorry about that." He said it so quietly that I knew no one else could hear him. I didn't want to deal with any more apologies or excuses. I hopped off my barstool rather quickly and nearly face planted into the floor, but Eric caught me.

"I think we're cutting her off," I heard Sam say lightly. There was a smile in his voice.

My vision was blurry and I hadn't realized I was drunk until I stood up. "I am fine." It slurred as it came out, but I didn't care. I was sick of being saved. Eric could save my face from a brush with the floor, but not from fairies. Fuck it. I struggled my way out of his large arms, only because he let me, and staggered to the parking lot. Eric gave one last look at Sam and shrugged before following me. He watched me bumble to my car and attempt to find my keys in my new purse. After much trying, I managed to get the key into the lock. I was about to open the door when Eric stopped me. I think I actually growled at him.

"You are in no condition to drive, dear one." He grabbed my keys before I could protest.

I swayed on my feet, "Then how am I going to get home? I don't see your car." I felt awfully smart in my drunken defiance, which I regretted almost instantly when I remembered Eric could fly. I was on his back and in the sky before I could even yelp.

The wind whipped through our hair, tangling it together. I realized almost reluctantly that we had almost the same shade of blonde hair. I would have been colder had I not been warmed by the gin in my belly and the fuzzy feeling I was getting through my veins at being this close to Eric. For once, I could enjoy this. I nuzzled my head into the crook of his shoulder blade. We landed sooner than I would have liked and he set me gently on my feet. My new roof was completely done, and was surprisingly fitting for my old farmhouse. No more leaks. Eric unlocked my front door and escorted me in. One of these days I was going to have to rescind his invitation so he couldn't enter so freely. He reached for the same light switch I had touched last night, but nothing happened.

"Why are my lights out?" I was confused.

"Sookie, be quiet." Eric whispered. The tone he used scared me into quiet submission. Something was up. Eric carried me caveman, or Viking, style over his shoulder and moved stealthily through my house. I tried desperately not to giggle at the situation. In my drunken mind the scene was quite comical. I thought I would make a good sitcom; Sookie Defies Death. In my opening scene I would be carried over the shoulder of a thousand year old Viking vampire sheriff who was my unintended husband through the dark corridors of my old farmhouse, feeling out if there was danger. Comedic genius.

"Kill them. Need to kill them both." I heard it as though it had been spoken.

"Eric, did you hear that?" I asked.

"What did you hear?" He whispered.

"Someone said to kill us both." Through the bond I felt him tense and it made me tense.

What happened next was over before it had a chance to start. A man rushed at us from the dark, he had a leg of my kitchen table positioned as a stake for Eric and a gun to dispose of me. Eric dodged his slow assailant and threw me onto the couch in the process. The attacker raised the gun and pointed it at me. He fired and hit the throw pillow next to me. Eric loomed over him and punched him so hard that I heard his neck snap. The man dropped to the floor with a sickening thud. Eric quickly pulled open the curtains to illuminate the entry way into the living room where the small battle had taken place. In the moonlight on my floor, head hanging unnaturally from his shoulders, was Pete Fischer. I screamed.

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Oh! A cliff hanger! Stay tuned.


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